Rus Snyders

Saturday the 26th myself, and two other anglers, Nick and Steve, got to the Lake Sonoma at around 7am. We had post-frontal conditions, with partly cloudy skies and a light north wind. The water temp was 52 degrees with 2-4 foot clarity. Our first stop was a big flat with a few scattered rock piles, in the Warm Springs Arm. The bite was on, and in the first 20 minutes of the day we landed 7 bass, a mix of large-mouth and small-mouth. We fished 3/8 oz. jigs and Dry Creek Tubes fished in 15-25 feet of water. The key was to find those larger rock piles, and make sure to drag the bait as slow as possible. We put a few of the bass in the livewell, for pictures at the end of the day, and a couple crawdads got spit up. They were light brown with bright orange claws. We matched our jigs and tubes accordingly and worked our way through the narrows, stopping to fish any of the points that had rock. We picked up a few more small-mouth bass, all around 2lbs. From 10am-2pm, the bite got tough for us, we didn't catch any bass, but Nick caught a nice 4lb steelhead on a crankbait. We then made a move towards back of the Warm Springs Arm. We found a couple rock piles that were stacked with fish. All were large-mouth bass, with the largest one going just over 4 pounds. By the end of the day we had caught a total of 20 bass. Monday the 28th was quite a different day. A cold storm had just arrived as we pulled up to launch the boat. There was a south wind and a heavy mist, which created a drizzle type rain that never let up all day. Right away I noticed the water temp had dropped a few degrees to 49. Ron and I fished all the areas through the narrows, where we'd been catching some nice small-mouth on Saturday, but only managed a couple tiny largemouth. It seemed many of the bass were suspended of the bottom. We worked reaction baits (spinnerbaits, ripbaits, and crankbaits), but had no luck. We went towards the back of Warm Springs to fish the rock piles that were productive on Saturday, and caught two more large-mouth on jigs, both were about a pound and a half. I dropped Ron off at the ramp at around noon and my friends, Hank and Chris, met me at the ramp. We fished around the narrows for a while but couldn't buy a bite. For some reason this weather front really shut off the small-mouth. We then bounced around to a few new points in the Warm Springs Arm that I haven't fished lately. All the spots were secondary points with rock. Using jigs and spinnerbaits (3/4 oz. white skirt/white blades), we caught a few more large-mouth. They weren't as schooled up like they were before, we would hook one fish every half hour or so. By the end of the day we caught 12 large-mouth up to 3 pounds, and no small-mouth.

Please visit www.russnyders.com for more fishing reports, videos, and info on Northern California Guide Trips.

Rus Snyders Guide Service

Fish Species: Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass
Bait Used: jigs, tubes, spinnerbaits, crankbaits
Tackle Used: Quantum Rods and Reels
Method Used: Casting
Water Depth: 15-30
Water Temperature: 49-52
Wind Direction: North Sat. South Mon.
Wind Speed: 5-15
Nick and Steve with some nice Lake Sonoma Bass
Nick and Steve with some nice Lake Sonoma Bass

Steelhead caught while fishing a crankbait at Lake Sonoma
Steelhead caught while fishing a crankbait at Lake Sonoma


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Rus Snyders

About The Author: Captain Rus Snyders

Company: Rus Snyders Bass Fishing Guide Service

Area Reporting: Clear Lake, Cal Delta, Sonoma, Folsom, Berryessa, Anderson, Calero

Bio: Northern California Bass Fishing Guide.My number one goal as a guide is to have you go home feeling that you had the greatest fishing experience of your life. I want my client's to walk away learning in one day what they felt would have taken years to learn on their own.

650 7407735
Click Here For Past Fishing Reports by Captain Rus Snyders